So I have a PC which I build from an old rig and switched out everything in it. The case is one of those old ones that is huge but has no cable management or anything actually that is beneficial. I now want to upgrade it for the summer. Until recently my most played game was LoL but Steam Summer Sale came and well... You know how that works :D
So for the first part is: What do I want from my computer? I have bought games like Skyrim, Dragon Age: Origins, Witcher 1+2, Bioshock 1-3 and Torchlight 2. This would be the games that the PC has to be able to handle. I won't be playing stuff like Crysis in the forseeable future. Apart from gaming I am a Computer Science student and do a lot of coding, but also minor rendering projects and a few times a year I have to create a magazin design.
What do I have? Well as you can see from my profile, I have a Intel Celeron G1610 with a H61MA-D2V r2.0 MoBo. The RAM is slow but is fine for now I guess. The PSU is one of the things that I HAVE to change. Its old, like really old. It's loud and doesn't even have enough pins for the MoBo connector. The case also has to go. I have a nVidia Geforce GT 640 from Point of View. it does a good job so I dont see a reason to switch it out just yet.
What I am planing to go with: Well I had following list in mind, but would like your opinion and ideas for changes.
CPU - AMD FX-8320
PSU - XILENCE RedWing PSU 580 Watt Rev.3
MoBo - Compatible with the CPU and able to do basic overclocking (won't happen now so no new cooler will be needed :D)
Case - Antec Gaming Series ONE
My budget and places I like to buy from? Well the budget is a problematic thing. I would like it to stay in the 300€ range. If it comes to 350€, it shouldn't be a big problem thou. For the shops, I live in Vienna, Austria, so my options are for the most part amazon.de and cyberport.at (I get 7% off there).
I guess that's it. If you need anything more just ask :) Thanks in advance!
Hi, as I can see is time for an upgrade. I like your plans but there something to say. I wouldn't keep that graphic card, is inappropriate for gaming and if your on a budget is going to be really weird to keep that GPU with a CPU such as the 8320.And we didn't talk about ram yet!!! I would go for something more like this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KBRtK8
and wait till u can get a discrete graphics card. I know that in europe the prices can be different ( I'm from italy), but I'm sure you can find better prices if you look around. With this configuration you have to keep just your storage and your os. If you can buy a GPU right now your best bang for the buck may be the r9 270 or the r7 265. Anyway you can buy all the stuff you need by the time you have the money and add another RAM DIMM or an SSD or a new hard disk.
I actually didn't even think much about the graphics since my 640 was doing fine till now (I even managed to play skyrim) but yea somwhere in my head I knew I will have to change it.
The reason why I wanted to switch to AMD was for the simple reason that it looks like a better price performance ratio if you intend to overclock which should be simpler/better with the AMD chips.
Another reason was that I would like to let my brother have the processor and motherboard, since his PC is... lets say it in a nice way: not in its best years.
But the new graphics card is a good point :) 750ti hmm. I really am no fanboy here so I don't care about nVidia vs ATI. Is this the best in this price range including ATI?
Hm... I already commented about the GPU on the other answere. You for example are recom. the ATI cards, where as the other user recom. the nVidia 750ti. Which is more viable in this price range?
I agree. but for now I will wait with the GPU. Why the x4 and not the 8320? Is it better at a price performance ratio? Ins't the FM2 socket old. I fear that In this case I wouldn't be able to later on buy a better processor without having to upgrade the motherboard, but future proof is kind of impossible in computer hardware. Is it good for overclocking? I'm not "Soooo" familiar with the AMD line up so...
The powersupply and case look good. I'll use them. The RAM I will later upgrade with a 1600 one.
Also I would later on buy additional components but I would like to have a good base thats why I have concentrated on the MoBo and the CPU.
Ivy bridge is still very, very capable. With AMD, it is indeed a great price-performance ratio, but you have to invest in a new motherboard as well. If you want to overclock, you need to invest in a higher end motherboard, upping the price even more.
750ti is a good card. Depending on your power supply, an R7 265 can also be a good choice. Out of the box, the R7 265 is the faster card. However, when both overclocked, they are very similar cards.
if you're planning to keep upgrading your computer in the time or you just want to buy the things by the time you have the money things may get a little different. If you want a little bit of future proofness, well.... this is not the right moment. AMD FX cpus have been around for a while, even if they're, in my opinion, absolutely fantastic probably AMD has something new coming out. The choise of an FX CPU is still great but it doesn't give you anymore the price/perfonce/futureproof ratio that it could have given you one year ago. When one year ago I had to build my rig I bought an FX 6300 that is THE BEST in that price zone. But know if your building a rig and you want a little more of future proofness that may be an haswell processor.
So this could be a configuration that can give you a bit more of warranties for the future
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pL2cRB
If you want to go AMD that could possibly have more horsepower than the intel one you should go with this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zcqzFT
And please when you will have to buy a GPU please don't get a 750 or 750ti, AMD cards are much better in that price range, go for the R7 265 or the R9 270
That RAM is fine. Don't waste money for 1600 there is no tangible difference, especially for gaming. Put your money into a good graphics card. 750ti has a bad price atm, AMD is much better at the mid range price point.
R9 270 is indeed better.
FM2 isn't old but it's cheap, and for your budget it's the only viable way to go. intel i3 is not worth it, and anything below a fx 8350 is less performance/$ from AMD, except for a few cases, like the 750k and FX 6300 (keep in mind 8320 is only a few bucks more and better for games).
So just to update on my current situation. I have now bought, what I consider quite a good base build:
MoBo: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU: AMD FX-8350 (8x 4.0GHz) 8MB Black Edition (Vishera)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
PSU: XILENCE RedWing PSU 580 Watt Rev.3
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
The other parts are still the same. I am currently writing this post while in the background prime95 is still running *_*
My current temps are:
Idle - 16-20°C
Prime95 - 42-47°C
Of course I know that the cooler would be an overkill if I don't intend to overclock and I do. But before I start with that, I will do some other upgrades first (starting next month) which will include a new GPU (maybe the R9 270X or the 770 [there is a sale where I can get it for 250€]) as well as a Samsung EVO 250GB.
About the temperatures, would you say that they are normal, because I'm kinda afraid of not puting the right amount/not quite centered termal paste. Also for some reason only the fan in the center is spinning (maybe because of the low temps?), the on on the outside of the cooler is not moving :/
All together (without the cooler - got it from a friend for really cheap, who bought a NH-D15) it comes to around 350€ (inc. 7% discount). Thank you all for the help. I will continue to post new updates and questions in this post.